Teacher firings; a Portland street maintenance fee: Opinion roundup

Adoption of a street maintenance fee without the public's sign-off would inflame voters who feel City Hall acts too freely with the public's money.

View full sizeA City of Portland worker smooths over a filled pothole on Northeast Knott Street in this file photo from 2010.Doug Beghtel/The Oregonian

Teacher firings raise hackles. And in California,
where the threat of a ballot initiative on teacher firings looms, lawmakers
weigh a bill that would streamline the appeals process for teachers accused of
crimes against children. The Los Angeles Times supports the bill but wants it
expanded to cover all teacher dismissals.

The Daily Astorian, on Oregon's north coast, calls
attention to trailer park violence across the Columbia River, on Washington's
Long Beach penninsula. The newspaper credits the Chinook Observer for detailing
the criminal activity and cites trailer parks as valuable for furnishing
low-cost housing. But it argues host communities must demand higher security to
ensure trailer parks remain a viable, safe option.

In
Klamath County, officials worry that local employers are hampered by a job-applicant
pool that's too narrow and ill-equipped. "The jobs are
here, at least some of them," writes the editorial board of the Herald and News
of Klamath Falls. "But what aren't here are enough qualified, motivated
workers."

For
reasons of supply in drought months and fire protection, Ashland should draw
water from the north by connecting to a Medford Water Commission line that ends
in Talent. The Mail Tribune of Medford argues: "Resistance in the past to
connecting to Medford water has stemmed from a desire among Ashland residents
to discourage population growth to protect the city's livability. Council
members and residents should consider what a catastrophic wildfire would do to
that livability."